Jace could tell Clary enjoyed having everybody over for lunch. Even as tired as he knew she must be, being around so many smiling faces seemed to energize her. Jace also made sure he did everything he could to be supportive. From sitting beside her and holding her hand through lunch to hopping up and refilling drinks, he tried to do everything he could to let her rest.
Izzy and Gran were getting along marvelously, not that that came as any surprise to Jace. If Gran liked Jace because of how happy he made Clary, surely she'd also appreciate Izzy for how happy Simon was around her.
As quiet as Alec usually was, Jace noticed even he participated in the conversation a decent amount. Clary and Gran seemed to share their talent for drawing people out and making them feel special. Gran was very interested to hear about Alec's job and told him if Shepherdsville had more first responders they may have been able to get to Jack in time to save him when he'd had his construction accident. Clary quickly changed the subject when it came to that. Jace suspected she didn't want Gran to be sad. He'd heard them speak of Gramps often, but not about his death or the circumstances surrounding it.
It wasn't until Gran started yawning that everyone began saying their goodbyes. Simon had already let Izzy and her brothers know that it was customary for everyone to go their separate ways in the mid afternoon so that Gran and Clary could get in a Shabbat nap, and so that Clary wouldn't be too tired for work.
Since Izzy, Alec, and Simon were all going to the same place it made sense for them to all ride together. After everyone said goodbye to Gran, Clary walked them all out. All five of them walked to Izzy's car, which was farthest away in the parking lot, and Clary and Jace said their goodbyes to the other three.
Clary hugged everybody, which Jace thought was funny when he saw the shocked look on his brother's face. Alec wasn't usually much of a hugger when it came to people outside his immediate family. He wondered if Clary noticed as Alec stiffly patted her on the back.
Once everyone else had left, Jace and Clary began walking slowly toward his car. "Are you going to nap?" she asked.
"I'm not sure," he said, stopping to look into her eyes. "Why do you ask?"
Clary's face turned that beautiful pink color Jace was growing to love so much. "I was just gonna say, you don't have to leave for that. You could always sleep here." Clary looked down as she finished talking and began chewing on the left side of her lower lip. Jace really wished she would be nicer to her poor lips. He happened to be rather fond of them. Reaching over he gently tugged it with his thumb, releasing it from the confines of her teeth.
"Gran wouldn't mind?" Jace asked as he bent to sooth the now red lip with a soft kiss. "If we were… sleeping together?"
"Not if we were really sleeping," Clary laughed. "Besides, she'll already be in her room by the time we get back, and I always wake up before her to make dinner. We'll leave the bedroom door open so we can hear her if she needs anything or on the off chance she gets up before us, she'll see we're not doing anything wrong."
"Okay," Jace agreed. He was unlikely to do any sleeping, but there was no way he would turn down a chance to spend extra time with his girl. Especially if his being there had a chance of keeping her nightmares away.
"I don't think I have anything that will fit for you to sleep in," Clary mused. "It's not going to be comfortable to sleep in your suit. I didn't even think of that."
"I don't suppose I should scandalize Gran by suggesting I sleep in my boxers, huh?" Jace chuckled. Clary seemed to be actually considering the idea. Jace wasn't sure if she was trying to decide how big of a problem Gran would have with him being in his boxers, or if she was trying to calculate what the odds were that she would wake up and see him at all, but that wasn't an embarrassment he was willing to subject either of them to. "I'm just kidding," he told her, "I always keep a gym bag in the trunk. I have some clean sweats I can change into."
"Oh! That would be perfect!" Clary said.
As Jace retrieved his gym bag from the trunk, he tried again to broach the subject of hospital bills. "So," Jace began, "am I allowed to spend money on you now that we're dating, or do I still have to picture those invisible scales you've had going in your head since we've met?"
Clary laughed. Jace didn't think he'd ever get enough of that sound. "That depends," she told him. "Are we talking about bringing me flowers once in a while, or buying me a Maserati?"
"Those are some pretty big extremes," Jace hedged. "What if I wanted to do something in the middle… like flowers and a nice dinner?"
Clary paused as if she was considering the question for a moment, but the look on her face told Jace she was pretending in order to tease him. They had reached the apartment, but neither seemed to be in a hurry to go inside. "Weeeeelllll," she finally said, "I suppose I could allow flowers and dinner as long as I was allowed to provide dessert."
"That will always be allowed!" Jace said. "I'll be happy to eat you and your desserts every day if you'll let me," he added, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.
Clary turned bright red and swatted Jace on the arm, "You're absolutely terrible!" she admonished.
"What?" Jace said, feigning innocence. "That apple stuff was delicious!"
Clary just rolled her eyes as she opened the door and stepped into the apartment, then closed the door and locked it behind them. Jace wasn't finished though. He figured while they were playing around and teasing was a good time to push his luck.
"What about Gran? Am I allowed to spend money on her whenever I want, or are gifts to her limited by proxy?"
"Actually," Clary said thoughtfully, pulling Jace by the hand as she walked into her room. "I think you buying her flowers would make me even happier than you bringing me flowers would."
"And if I wanted to buy her a Maserati?" Jace pressed.
"Gran hasn't driven in over a year," Clary told him. "If you somehow manage to convince her she needs a Maserati, I'm not going to stand in your way. Now stop asking silly questions and kiss me."
Jace didn't need to be told twice. He leaned down and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her to him so that her body fit perfectly against his. She was so tiny, yet he felt surrounded by her. Her scent invaded his nostrils as he tasted her against his lips. Clary let out a small sigh of contentment as she leaned against him, and Jace couldn't imagine a better place in the entire world than right here, holding his Clary, in his arms.
Clary broke the kiss, much sooner than Jace would have, and pointed him toward the restroom, telling him he could change first.
"We could change together," He suggested.
Clary just gave him a look that said she was not amused before gently pushing him in the right direction, and Jace headed into her bathroom chuckling to himself. He had no idea how she moved so fast, but when Jace came out of the bathroom in his sweats, Clary had already exchanged her dress for a pair of pajama shorts and a small tank top. The shorts were absolutely adorable with little pandas printed all over them and it occurred to Jace that Clary might actually have to buy her pajamas in the children's section since she was so petite. He started to ask her about it, but when his eyes reached her face Jace saw that Clary was stifling a yawn and he remembered how important it was that she get a nap.
Clary laid on her side, facing the center of the bed like she had in the back room of the hotel. She appeared to be fighting to keep her eyes open as Jace took his place beside her. "Today was nice, huh?" She asked sleepily.
"Yeah. It was great," he told her. "You should be sleeping," he added, gently brushing her cheek with the back of his hand.
"Mmmmmm," she replied, nuzzling her cheek against his hand. "I'd rather stay awake with you," she insisted. Jace chuckled because even as she said it her eyelids were beginning to droop.
"Just sleep, love," he told her, gently kissing her forehead and running his hand lightly over her hair. "I'm not going anywhere. I'll still be here when you wake up."
Clary mumbled something in response, but Jace couldn't understand a word of it. She finished with a sigh as she snuggled into him and her breathing evened out. Jace continued to run his hand softly over her hair. It seemed to relax her further, even in sleep.
Jace couldn't believe how lucky he was that Clary had agreed to date him. She was so beautiful. She looked like an angel sleeping beside him. The way the light was filtering in through the screened window made it look like she wore a hazy halo. Her lips were plump and pulled into a small pout as if even in sleep she was upset she couldn't stay awake. Jace genuinely hoped he would be able to keep the nightmares away. He continued touching her hair, her cheeks, her back, anywhere he could that might have a soothing effect. Clary slept on peacefully.
Jace knew it could be considered creepy to watch someone sleep, so he kept forcing himself to look away. He could never avert his eyes for long, though, before he was drawn back to Clary's beauty. He memorized each of the adorable freckles that dusted her face. He wondered if they would have kids with freckles like this one day. He could picture a little girl with blond pigtails and a smile with missing front teeth asking him to push her higher on the swing or a little boy with a shock of red hair and a cowlick asking for help catching a lizard. They would have adorable kids. Jace had never pictured himself as a dad before. It had never occurred to him to want kids, but he could see having a family with Clary. He wanted everything with Clary.
Almost as if she could hear his thoughts Clary smiled and snuggled closer. Jace couldn't see her face anymore with her tucked so tightly against him, but he couldn't be sad about it when she felt so soft and warm in his arms.
Jace wasn't sure how long they stayed like that before he heard his phone buzz. He had transferred it to the pocket of his sweats when he changed earlier, and he tried to extract it without disturbing Clary. She didn't appear to wake, but she did roll onto her other side when his arm left her to reach for the phone.
It was Alec asking about Jace's plans for the night. He was hoping to go back to Magnus' bar. Jace hadn't really had a chance to talk to Alec about his sleepover earlier, but obviously he and Magnus had hit it off. Jace quickly texted Alec letting him know he couldn't text now because he didn't want to wake Clary, but that he'd be happy to join him at the bar and he'd call him later to firm up the plans. Once he'd sent the text, he put his phone away and put his arm over Clary, who was now facing away from him.
Even in her sleep Clary's body reacted to Jace's touch. She was already sleeping against him, but she snuggled even closer. Even though Clary's unconscious wiggling was putting Jace in an uncomfortable position, he still thought holding her tucked against him while she slept was something he could really get used to.